Lost Memories
by snchills
Summary: What else was left behind in John's storage unit.


Warning: This story contains spoilers for Season 3 specifically Bad Day At Black Rock

Authors note: I just couldn't help but wonder what else John kept in that storage unit. All the secrets he kept, all the stories the contents would have told if the boys only had the time to stay and investigate. Let's hope they get another chance to go back there in future episodes because I bet John had a lot of great stuff inside that the boys never knew he had. All mistakes are mine. Thanks for reading and please leave a review.

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Dean and Sam looked around the dark storage unit amazed at all the things their father had collected over the years. The weaponry they were prepared to find. The latest weapons and gadgets always seemed to end up in John's bag of tricks, so that was no big surprise. Hell even finding land mines wasn't that much of a surprise to Dean and Sam. The boys kept looking around.

The soccer trophy. That's what shocked them more than anything else they found in that room. Sam vividly remembered that fight as did Dean and the outcome had not been good. Yeah sure Sam was allowed to play but the price he paid was steep. Dean ran interference as long as he could but even he couldn't protect his brother from his father's constant harassment about Sam's time away from hunting. Sam tried unsuccessfully to explain that speed and agility were all things he would need on a hunt and that playing soccer would actually make him a better hunter in the long run. John had refused to listen stating it was all a waste of time and it became one of the few times Sam was allowed to do something outside of hunting.

The season ended, Sam's team won the championship and the Winchesters moved on to another hunt shortly after. During one of the subsequent moves Sam noticed his trophy had gone missing and just assumed it had gotten left behind during one of their quick escapes like so many of their other belongings over the years. He didn't even miss it. After all it was just a reminder of what he was never going to be able to do with his life. Play soccer, have friends, be normal.

Dean's first sawed off shotgun was also there much to Dean's delight. If they had been any other family that would have been considered an odd thing to be sentimental about but not so if you were a Winchester. What else would they find inside that storage unit. Too bad they didn't have time to look.

Sam looked over the shelf and noticed that one box was missing, a cursed box, and they quickly decided to take off after it. Over to the side, on top John's old work bench sat another box. This wooden box plain and nondescript. Its hinges broken from opening and closing so often over the years. The clasp worn away, brass faded from time and touch. Neither of them saw it sitting there.

Their father they knew was never a sentimental man…or so they thought. If they had just opened that box they would have changed their minds forever about their father. Over the years John had collected quite a few items from his wife and boys. In the days after the fire, John had managed to go back inside the house and salvaged what few items that were left. Some things he left behind, others he never let go until the day he died.

Each time he opened it he ached for the life he would never have again and could never give to his boys. Inside were Mary's hospital bracelets from when both boys were born including their first baby pictures. A wedding invitation from their wedding, smudged and faded over the years sat tucked in the top of the box. One house key, a blue hair ribbon, a single earring it's mate lost, report cards, drawings, an odd little school project Dean made in kindergarten all laid inside the box. More pictures, another envelope with a lock of brown hair from Sammy's first hair cut, the first tooth Dean ever lost and a business size envelope, folded and refolded over the years with the return address of Stanford.

Sam's acceptance to Stanford letter. John had looked at it often with pride and sadness. Hidden away, he had found it one day some weeks after Sam stormed off to his new and normal life. He never showed it to Dean only keeping it for himself. A pain he carried until the day he left it behind in the storage unit. His youngest son gone, his oldest a shell of himself and a hurt he could only blame himself for. John stayed away from the box the whole last year of his life never making it back to his storage unit before he died.

The storage unit's contents would remain intact until it was broken into and the wooden box on top the work bench would never be opened again.

The end.


End file.
